I have been quietly reflecting on the 12th Anniversary of 911, I was folding laundry in tears today listening to the names of the dead from that day being read as NPR reported on the ceremonies.
No American forgets today. My oldest had his yearly 2 year old check up that day. I had found out we were expecting our second right around that week. One tower was down when we left, the other was down as we got back.
We were living in Bethlehem at the time and my husband was working at PraxAir on a concrete job with a local contractor.
I was busying myself with pruning the trees and listening intensely to the radio as I felt so horrified, confused, and frankly terrified. I rationalized that the three planes were just a beginning, that if THIS could happen, anything could happen.
I thought of the movie Red Dawn and hated that my husband was at work. He thankfully came home early as PraxAir went on lock down, because other Americans were feeling the same unguarded fear of the unknown and a gas plant could be a horrible, but affective target.
In the hours and days that followed, our sense of security rose, but our arrogant pride has never really returned.
American Pride after 9-11-01, is different. We may not be as vulnerable, but we do have vulnerability and we know it.
It's a humbling that encourages us to fight harder to be less vulnerable and have more representation in our government as promised. That would be reflected on how politics run today. Today two representatives were reported to have been ousted in CO for overreacting to Gun Laws they voted for after the Aurora Horror.
We also have an explosion of Social Media that keeps us up to date more regularly than the past. The difference is profound compared to 12 years ago.
Please be careful in this new age as not all the information on our FB Walls are true. Think about Jimmy Kimmel and his recent conquest at faking a viral video on YouTube recently.
Even more so and relevant today also marks the 40th anniversary of the US supporting a rebel-fueled coupe in Chile.
Sound familiar? I thought, somewhat, but no, as Chile had an elected official in 1973 and Syria has the Dictator Assad.
I also thought about the speech Obama gave last night. It was very compelling to a liberal heart, but not enough to a guarded liberal heart that sees us still vulnerable, not just from 9-11, but our own internal National Strife and struggles as we will also be approaching the first anniversary of Sandy Hook.
No matter what tears us apart through politics and ideology, those same elements bind the Modern American, regardless of race, sex, or sexual orientation to have faith in each others' common pursuit of Happiness through Liberty, Freedom, and Justice for ALL!!!
